BMW M2 to debut early 2015: report

German car maker?s hi-po pocket rocket to be unveiled at Detroit motor show.

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BMW M2 to debut early 2015: report

17 Oct 2014Sam Hall

The long-rumoured BMW M2 will be formally unveiled at the Detroit motor show early next year, a new report has suggested.

English publication AutoExpress has speculated the diminutive new M car will pick up where the old 1 Series M Coupe left off, with a noticeably more aggressive tune of the 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine found in the M235i. Its outputs will be bumped up to about 260kW, and it is set to be offered with a manual transmission only - so as to differentiate itself as a more 'hardcore' offering from the existing M3 and M4.

As well as the power fillip, early production prototypes of the M2 have featured more muscular proportions, flared wheels arches and a buldging bonnet.

The head of BMW's product development for M models, Carsten Preist, told AutoExpress the M2 needed to offer something different to the market from the M3 or M4, to avoid sales overlap.

"If you look at the M3 and M4, it's not just about putting in the biggest engine with the biggest displacement and highest horsepower," he said. "It's about the right balance between power and weight, so you have a car that's quick enough for acceleration, but agile enough and with an additional edge.

"If you remember the 1 Series M Coupe there's always a bit of overlap, but we offered the manual gearbox only – that was one of the main differences.

"You don't want to drag people down from an M3 or an M4. That wouldn't be sensible."

The 250kW/500Nm (on overboost) 1 Series M Coupe is still regarded as one of the most potent sports cars around.

Unlike that model, which became mischievous and a handful when pushed, the M2 will be transformed into a purer, faster track day machine with stiffer fixed-rate dampers over the M235i's adaptive dampers.

AutoExpress hints there could also be carbon fibre-reinforced plastic panels to strip out more weight, as well as a mechanical limited-slip differential.

"If you look at what the M235i stands for, it's a lot of driving excitement and emotion for sure, but it doesn't go as far as an M core model. To qualify as an M core model, it would have to go quite a big step further," Priest said of the M2.

The M2 is expected to begin production shortly after its reveal, reaching global showrooms in 2016.